


no more questions (let's enjoy tonight)

by SmittyJaws



Series: modern times (rock and roll) [3]
Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ace!Deaky, ace!OFC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 03:51:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19737751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmittyJaws/pseuds/SmittyJaws
Summary: Jay and John go on their first date, at long last.  Requested by @killerqueen-gunpowdergelatine on Tumblr.





	no more questions (let's enjoy tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Welcome to ace!Deaky modern AU - something that started as a spin-off from my regular 70s fics for random funny fic ideas, but ended up spawning its own actual universe and serious stories!
> 
> If you follow me on Tumblr, you'll know that I decided to make my modern Reader character an OFC, seeing as my modern AU actually picked up a lot of a storyline and more depth than I anticipated. All the more serious fics will have her named in them as an OFC, but all the other/comedy one-shot fics will still be written from the nameless Reader/‘You’ POV.
> 
> Also, this is a repost as I wanted to have this story as its own standalone work, seeing as it doesn't match the tone of the rest of the Modern AU oneshots.
> 
> With that said; enjoy!

John’s nervous. He knows he really shouldn’t be; he and Jay have been friends for a while, they get along well, they have a lot of common interests… it was really only a matter of time before they ended up going out on a date (according to Freddie, anyway). Still, that doesn’t stop his hands from shaking slightly or prevent his nervous stutter from making an appearance when he actually asks her out.

They’d both initially rejected the idea of being paired off, mostly because it was all “she’s ace, you’re ace; it’s a match made in heaven!” comments, and both of them had thought that was an incredibly stupid reason for automatically being ‘perfect for each other’.

No matter, as time has passed and they’ve gotten to know each other, John knows he’s found himself falling for Jay, and he knows she’s done the same, from what Roger has told him. Since that revelation, neither has been wanting to make a move and disrupt their friendship, but John knows he spends more time these days watching her as she talks with the others, paying attention to the sound of her voice, her laugh, the ridiculous hand gestures she makes when she tells a story… the only thing that sends that to a halt is when she looks over at him and John has to pretend that he hasn’t been staring like a lovesick puppy.

The only consolation he has at his embarrassment over all this is that he knows Jay does it too, as he’s noticed on several occasions that she’ll immediately turn her head away when he looks towards her sometimes, or just go very red and mumble. Roger tells him that she’s in just as deep as he is, and would they just stop pining and do something about it already?

And that’s what brings him to now, where he’d successfully asked her out, she hadn’t rejected his offer (and had in fact given him a bright beaming smile when he’d asked), and now, he’s stressing out about how well the events of tonight will play out.

Roger’s giving him a ride tonight, as John’s car is in the shop and he hadn’t been able to get a loaner, and not focusing on driving means John’s got a death grip on the small bunch of flowers he’s bought Jay while he’s splitting his time between re-reading her last text to him ( _“see you in 15 minutes! :)”_ ) multiple times and getting caught up in his own head…or he would be, if Roger wasn’t chattering his ear off with inane questions.

“So what’s it like, exactly?”

“What’s what like?” John’s taken slightly aback by the non sequitur. “You’ve been on dates before, Rog.”

“Yes, but none of those were with someone who’s ace, Deaky.” Roger rolls his eyes slightly and glances over, and John has to remind him to keep an eye on the road.

“How would you know? Did they tell you? People don’t normally just wear a sign announcing their sexuality loudly for potential partners.”

“Trust me, Deaky, if they were, they were very sexually positive, if you know what I mean.” Roger winks, and John grimaces.

“Fine, but that notwithstanding, why do you think our date/ace people’s dates in general will be so wildly different?” John asks. “Not everything always has to end in sex.”

“I know that.” Roger’s rolling his eyes again. “But you two are just so…innocent, I swear. And yes, I realize that you make more ‘That’s what she said’ jokes than I do, but otherwise, you’re like total Puritans. Never even laid a hand on each other except for occasional friendly hugs, which Jay gives everyone, I might add.”

“So? We’ve been just friends up til now. I didn’t want to ruin that,” John defends. “I’m sure she felt the same. If that changes, it changes. If not, then it won’t. I’m not going to do anything she’s not comfortable with.”

They’ve arrived at her flat, and Roger puts the van in park, tutting at him like a mother hen. “Listen to you, being all responsible and such about your lady’s wellbeing. Our little boy’s finally grown up!” He wipes a fake tear from his eye.

John rolls his eyes good-naturedly, and has to bat Roger’s hand away from trying to fiddle with the one part of his jacket collar that won’t lie evenly. “Yes, _mum_. I’ll be fine. She’s not ‘my lady’, anyway.”

He hops out of the van and shoos Roger away after he rings the buzzer, not wanting the blond to hang around and watch him. There’s a minute or so of silence before he gets an answer, and for a moment, John worries that this is all a setup. But then the intercom sounds, and John relaxes upon hearing Jay’s voice telling him to come on up and buzzing him in.

Then of course, he has to do the second walk of apprehension from the ground floor up to her flat, and without Roger to distract him, John starts worrying again. He’s sure this won’t go the same way as it did for his last girlfriend, going over to surprise her and finding that she’d cheated on him, but a part of him can’t help but draw attention to the similarities in both situations.

He tries to get out of his own head, though, and realizes he’s been so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed the actual door to Jay’s flat. He takes a moment to breathe and compose himself (tonight is supposed to be enjoyable, after all), then knocks on the door.

“It’s open!” He hears a voice call from the inside, so he carefully cracks open the door and steps inside. He can hear the sound of someone listening to Katy Perry in one room, and assumes that that’s her roommate Blanche (they’ve never properly met, but John’s heard plenty of stories about her). Wandering further into the sitting room area finds his date in question attempting to shoo a rather fat calico out the window. “Patches, you have to leave! You know you can’t stay around while I’m out!”

The sight of Jay dressed and clearly ready to go out, yet still begging with a cat, is enough to settle his nerves somewhat. Nothing has really changed, aside from them being alone together this time. She finally manages to get the cat out and closes the window, and turns to look at John, a look of exasperation on her face. “Neighbourhood cats; can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em, am I right?”

It takes John a second to collect himself; upon Jay’s turning around, he’s struck by the sight of her. She hasn’t put too much effort in to be fancy (they’re not going any place extravagant, after all), but it’s enough effort to stand out from the norm that it makes his mouth go slightly dry and his nerves make a bit of a reappearance. This is real, this is happening, and she’s dressed up for him. To go out on a date with him. Roger’s comment about her being ‘his lady’ pops into his head unbidden and John thinks his heart stops slightly at the thought of that.

“Are you alright?” She looks concerned now, and John has to remind himself to breathe and stay in the present.

“Y-yes.” Oh God, his stammer is back. He clears his throat and tries again: “Yes. Um. These-these are for you.” He holds the flowers out and tries to will his hands to stop shaking.

Luckily for him, Jay doesn’t seem to notice and smiles at the bouquet in his hand. “Really? Oh, these are lovely.” She takes them, and sniffs at them appreciatively. John had made sure to get ones that didn’t smell a lot, knowing about her allergies, and smiles himself, seeing that she likes them. “Let me just put these in some water, and we can head out.” She smiles again and heads to the kitchen to find a vase.

John can’t help but laugh slightly when she’s not able to find any actual vases (even though she swears she “had one around here somewhere”), and she ends up cutting them down and putting them into a cleaned out pasta sauce jar waiting for the recycling. She apologizes for not having anything better to put his flowers in, but John reassures her that he understands and that he’s just happy to see that she likes them.

On that note, there’s a bit of an awkward pause where they both go a bit bashful, faces red before Jay breaks the silence and tells him shyly that she thinks he looks nice. “Not that you don’t usually look nice,” she’s fumbling over her own words now and apologizing, and John’s a bit glad to see it’s not just him that’s nervous about this.

“You look nice too,” he tells her, and they stand there for another moment just looking at each other before they decide that they need to get going or they won’t end up having a date at all.

They had ended up deciding to go skating at a nearby arena for their discount public skate; it was within walking distance of her flat, and they’d decided that this was a low-key, fun (not to mention, budget-friendly) activity they could both enjoy without feeling too much pressure to be romantic.

The walk there is quiet, neither of them really knowing what to say for the first little bit, but Jay manages to break the ice with a joke about Brian’s latest absent-minded mishap involving him walking face-first into a pole when he was looking at some of his astrophysics notes while walking, and the awkwardness lessens bit by bit.

When they get to the arena, it’s noisy and busy with other students and families, so there’s not much time to chat while they take care of paying. John covers admission, Jay covers skate rentals; she had insisted on splitting it when they’d set it up, knowing that money is tight for both of them (and while John likes to think he’s a gentleman, his wallet definitely appreciates every bit he can save). They manage to find a couple of places to sit to get their skates on, then clomp their way over to the ice. “Shall we?” she asks John, grinning.

They’re both terribly out of practice, neither of them having had the opportunity to skate in years, but it soon comes back to them and they’re zipping around the ice, having a great time bobbing and weaving to the pop tunes that are being piped through the arena sound system.

The awkwardness from before dies down rather quickly, too; both of them so caught up in the fun they’re having that there’s no reason to be shy. They both sing along to Uptown Funk when it plays (one of the only songs John’s willing to actually sing in front of others, and the semi-anonymity of the crowd lets him feel less self-conscious about it), attempt (badly) to do the Macarena when it comes on as well, and just generally have fun talking and joking around the way they usually do.

By the time the buzzer goes off to indicate the end of the public skate, they’re both breathless and red-cheeked from the cold and exercise, laughing together about the fun they’ve had. Walking over to a nearby coffee shop for a drink afterward to finish up the night, things quiet down a little but they’re walking side by side more closely than earlier and neither of them seem nearly as nervous anymore, and John thinks this is going rather well.

Just then, he feels the gentle brush of Jay’s hand against his as they walk, and at first, he thinks it’s just an accident, but then it happens a second time, and John figures that if he’s misreading the signs here, he can deal with the consequences. He carefully reaches over and takes her hand in his, feeling his heart flutter a bit when she interlaces their fingers together and looks over at him, smiling shyly. Clearly, he hasn’t misread things, and he smiles at that.

They have to let go when they get to the coffee shop and order their drinks, but after they get their orders, they find an empty table in a corner and opt to sit together on one side of the table, trying to recapture the moment they had on the walk in. This time, John’s the one subtly bumping their knuckles together under the table, trying to send a message without saying a word. His heart is racing again as he waits, hoping this will work and that his gamble will pay off.

As always, Jay understands the nonverbal communication (it’s something John’s always loved about their friendship), and she slides her hand over to where John’s is now resting on his knee, looking up at him questioningly to confirm that this is what he wants as she takes his hand again.

John smiles and leans into her side a bit more, and feels Jay do the same. They’re no closer than they normally are when they hang around with the rest of the band (the only cheap pub nearby has notoriously tiny booths), but somehow it feels so much closer in this context, and John’s enjoying every minute of it. Neither of them says anything; they just sit there together and enjoy the moment while they drink their drinks, not wanting to break the spell or have the night end.

However, all things do eventually have to come to an end, and they’re forced to leave when the coffee shop starts to close up for the night. John sends Roger a quick text to tell him he needs to be picked up soon, and the two of them walk slowly back to her flat hand in hand again (there’s less hesitation this time when she reaches out to take his, and she even gives his hand a bit of a gentle squeeze as she does. It might be just a small gesture, but something about it makes John so unbelievably happy).

When they get back, she insists on waiting with John until Roger comes, not wanting to leave John alone outside. They sit together on the wide stone wall that borders part of the front garden, chatting idly about random things. They’re enjoying each other’s company and the bit of contact they have from sitting relatively close and holding hands again, and John has no intention of moving from this spot until he absolutely has to… until he feels Jay shiver slightly.

It’s a cool autumn evening, and they’d both dressed appropriately for the weather (and for skating), but now that they’re no longer moving, the chill is starting to set in more. John’s not really able to give her his jacket (it’s a bit too cold for that, and she’d refuse it on those grounds alone, not wanting him to get sick) so he decides to throw caution to the wind here and test the waters a little more.

He detaches his hand from hers, and Jay stops talking and looks up at him in confusion as neither of them can see or hear that loud rattletrap Roger calls a van. John just gives her a small smile and takes his newly freed arm to wrap around her waist instead, gently pulling her towards him slightly and allowing her to lean in to share whatever meagre amount of body heat he’s able to offer.

She looks surprised for a brief moment, before scooting herself over towards him and settling in closer. She’s still shivering slightly, but there’s also a content smile on her face now which John is sure matches the one on his own.

When Roger eventually shows up to get John, the two of them pull apart reluctantly and she gives him a warm hug before watching him get in the van and waving him off. She stays outside until they pull away and John can no longer see her, and during the entire drive back he’s replaying the memories in his head of the night, trying to ignore Roger as the blond cracks jokes about how cute the two of them looked sitting together.

When John gets home to his flat, he notices he’s alone and breathes a small sigh of relief that his roommate must have gotten an extra late shift at work, which means no post-date interrogation tonight. He knows it’ll come eventually, but at least he can avoid it tonight. He lies on his bed staring at his phone screen for a while, wondering if it’s bad form to text so soon after a date, but still wanting to talk to Jay again. Are the rules different if you were already friends prior to the date? Does it matter?

He decides to stop agonizing about it and go about actually getting ready for bed, rather than just passing out in the clothes he was wearing earlier, and of course that’s the moment his phone goes off with a quiet buzz.

John almost doesn’t hear it at first, as it’s sitting on his pillow and he’s on the other side of his room tossing clothes into the hamper, but at the second buzz, he quickly pulls on one of the sets of shirts and pants he normally sleeps in and goes to take a look. Not that anyone would see him if he was in his skivvies, but having a conversation with someone while undressed has always felt slightly weird to him.

His screen is lit up with a flood of memes about dating from Roger, which he rolls his eyes and dismisses the notifications for, but tucked in the middle of all those photos is the notification for an actual text; from Jay.

It reads simply: _I had a really good time tonight :)_ , but even just those seven words are enough to make John’s mood raise even more and that fluttery feeling in his chest to come back.

He barely registers that he’s grinning like an idiot at his phone screen while he types a response back: _So did I :D_

She sends back _I know it’s not realistic, but I wish that it hadn’t had to end_ , complete with blushing emojis in response and for a moment, John’s torn between lying back and grinning even more like a lovesick fool at his phone and trying to decide whether the response he wants to make comes off as too desperate or clingy.

After attempting to reword his text three times, he decides to just go for it and actually verbalize what he wants; the more he overthinks this the more anxious he’ll get. _Same. Wanna do it again sometime?_ He hits send before he has a chance to talk himself out of it, then just waits and hopes he hasn’t messed this up by being too forward.

There’s a minute or two of nothing, but then the ‘person is typing’ icon appears on his screen, and soon after: _I’d like that :) :) :)_

They say goodnight shortly afterwards because they both have class in the morning, but John falls asleep that night with a smile on his face, a warm feeling in his chest, and more hope for a relationship than he’s had in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also @smittyjaws on Tumblr, if you want to hit up my dumpster fire of a blog!


End file.
